Legal Status of Gilgit, Hunza Etc. Gilgit, Hunza, Nagar, Yasin, Ponial, Chitral and Skardu have from times immemorial formed integral parts of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. These places come into focus when the Pakistan Government nominated representatives from these areas to Pakistan’s ‘Majlis-i-Shora’. This was obviously a move to annex and merge these parts with the northern parts of Pakistan. These places are inalienable parts of the Jammu and Kashmir State is substantiated and established beyond any doubt by history and that the State of Jammu and Kashmir exercised sovereignty and suzerainty over these areas is vouchsafed and evidenced by records, documents, correspondence with the then British Government, and various treatises as also de facto and de jure administrative control of the State over these areas. Authentic documents and official records relating to pre-1947 era now lying in the J&K State Archives prove the claim of Pakistan as false. Besides numerous publications by well known and knowledgeable authors testify to these areas being parts of J&K State as it existed on October 31, 1947. Gilgit Gilgit is situated in some of the most dense and lofty mountain ranges of the world. It is cradled by the mighty Himalaya’s and Karakoram ranges. No where else in the world is there to be found a more fascinating blend of deep valleys and majestic mountain peaks in such a small compass. It is situated between 35.55º latitude 74.23º longitude and its average height is 4,890 feet. Gilgit is locked between the frontiers of some great and ancient empires, viz India, Russia and China. Because of its strategic location it has always remained at the centre of affairs between these countries and has been influencing their strategic calculations. Gilgit has from times immemorial remained a part and parcel of Indian sub-continent and has been within the ambit of its political, religious and cultural influence. This reality was put into sharp focus with the discovery of now Internationally famous Gilgit manuscripts which were discovered in 1938 and which are an authentic source of Buddhist influences and lore in these far-flung territories. Gilgit has been a part of the territories of Kashmir State from early times. Kalhan’s Rajatarangini narrates vividly the detours of famous Kashmiri conqueror. Lalitaditya (595-732 A.D) in Gilgit and its adjoining territories. Similarly Gilgit formed a part of medieval Kashmiri Sultan Shahab-u-Din’s kingdom (1356-74 A.D). After the disintegration of Shahmiri Sultanate these territories fell out but Ghazi Chak in (1552-62 A.D) re-conquered or annexed such territories as had fallen off from the kingdom. In this attempt he attained marked success in recovering Skardu, Gilgit, Kishtwar, Pakhli and Mungli (near Pakhli), besides bringing into subjugation the Chief of the Gakkhars. In order to ensure efficient administration of these territories, he appointed experienced and intelligent governors to control them. In 1842, Gilgit was again conquered by Sikh rulers of Kashmir. After he took over Kashmir from the British in 1846, Maharaja Gulab Singh, subjugated Gilgit but he had to face repeated insurgency. In 1859 Maharaja Ranbir Singh sent a force led by Gen. Hoshiar Singh, which ultimately tamed the resistance and the territory was permanently annexed to Jammu and Kashmir. Mian Jawahir Singh was appointed the first Waziri Wazarat, who, according to the official assessment of 1916, assessed the revenue of the tract to be at Rs. 7,842/-. Towards the second half of the eighteenth century, things began to hot up in the turbulent region as the Czarist Russia began to evince rather abnormal interest in the region and British rulers of India became apprehensive of a possible southward thrust by Czarist expansionists. Taking no chances, they decided to put up a watch tower in Gilgit. They placed a British Officer there in 1868 to monitor intelligence reports and other related moves. In 1889 a full fledged Gilgit agency was established which included areas of Yasin, Ponial, Kuh-Ghizar, Ishkman, Chilas region etc. but the civil and administrative control continued to vest in the Government of Maharaja. It continued to be administered by the Maharaja’s Government. Most of its garrison consisted of Dogra soldiers and Dogra and Kashmiri official drawn from State Government cadre, often belonging to Jammu and Kashmir regions, continued to be posted in Gilgit. After the death of Maharaja Pratap Singh, Hari Singh was installed as Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir State in 1925. He was very particular to assert J&K’s sovereignty on Gilgit and did not hesitate to join issues with the British when they made attempts, overt and covert, to undermine the authority of the State administration. He insisted that only the State flag should fly over the frontier territory. British had no alternative but to reiterate the sovereign right of Maharaja’s rule. Now the political landscape had changed in Russia considerably but the British became even more apprehensive about the intentions of Bolshavik regime in what was now re-christened as Soviet Union. They, through the intermediary efforts of their lent Officer Col. Colvin, whom the Maharaja had appointed as his Prime Minister in 1932, persuaded Hari Singh to lease out the territory to the British Government of India for a period of sixty years. Maharaja could not refuse for obvious reasons because he was increasingly leaning on British support to suppress the rising tide of peoples movement in J&K which had come to fore in 1931 and was fathered by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. Accordingly a lease deed was signed on 26th March, 1935. The deed bears the signatures of Hari Singh on one side and British Resident in Kashmir, L. E. Lang on the other. The deed was ratified by the Viceroy Lord Wellington on April 3, 1935. The provisions of the deed are revealing to the extent that even while taking over the temporary administration of the territory, British Government made it explicitly clear that the territory falls within the boundaries of Maharaja’s domain and he continues to exercise sovereign right over the area. This will be clear by a reference to the provisions of the treaty itself.
Article 1 The Viceroy and Governor General of India may at any time after the ratification of this agreement assume the Civil and Military administration of so much of the Wazarat of Gilgit province (hereinafter referred to as the "said territory") of the State of Jammu and Kashmir as lies beyond the right bank of the river Indus, but notwithstanding anything in this agreement the said territory shall continue to be included within the dominions of His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Article 2 In recognition of the fact that the said territory continues to be included within the dominions of His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, salutes and customary honours shall be paid in the said territory by the administration on the occasion of the birth day of His Highness, Baisakhi, Dussehra, Basant Panchmi and on such other occasions as may be agreed upon by His Highness and the Viceroy and the Governor-General of India. The flag of His-Highness will be flown at the official headquarters of the Agency throughout the year. Article 3 In normal circumstances no British or British India troops shall be despatched through that portion of the Wazarat of Gilgit province which lies beyond the left bank of the river Indus. Article 4 All rights appertaining to mining are reserved to His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. The grant of prospecting licences and mining leases will not be made during the period of the agreement mentioned below. Article 5 This agreement shall remain in force for sixty years from the date of its ratification and the lease will terminate at the end of that period. Maharaja remained vigilant to the outward assertions and manifestations of his sovereignty even after conceding the lease. Consequently, Kashmir flag continued to be hoisted alongwith the Union Jack on the portals of Gilgit fort. Though the deed provided that the lease will be valid for 60 long years and then lapse "automatically" on-rush of fast moving international scenario over took the imperialist designs of the British. The second World War shook the empire to its very foundations and the British decided to withdraw from India and as a direct sequel to this decision the lease was terminated and the area reverted to J&K State. The Maharaja deputed one of his Army Officers Brig Ghansara Singh as the Governor of Gilgit. He took over his stupendous assignment on July 31, 1947. On the same day the Union Jack was formally lowered. On August 1, 1947 an illumination was ordered in the entire J&K State officially to celebrate this re-union. Significantly, this was the Day when Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Srinagar on his first as well as last visit of Kashmir. Partition of India saw Gilgit again in the vortex of a grim turbulence. The British Officers in Gilgit had felt a pang when they watched the solemn ceremony of lowering of Union Jack at Gilgit. They also looked to the newly carved Pakistan with fond hopes of siding with them in any future polarisation of world forces. They embarked upon fanning the embers of discontent in the territory. Local garrison which was acting under the direction of one Major Brown rebelled. They got encouragement from newly carved out Pakistan authorities who were by then busy conspiring to grab the entire State of Jammu and Kashmir by force. On the night of October 31, 1947 when some four hundred and odd miles away Pakistani raiders were knocking at the doors of an undefended Srinagar, the Gilgit Governor’s residence was surrounded. This date was a watershed in the History of J&K State as the first ever popular Government under the leadership of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was by then at the helm of affairs in Srinagar. The Governor, after demonstrating remarkable personal valour, was over-powered and put under unlawful arrest. On November 4, Pakistani representatives sent specially to Gilgit, gleefully saw Major Brown hoist the Pakistani flag in the Scout lines and in the third week of November, 1947 Pakistan sent its political agent to rule over Gilgit. The last Kashmiri Governor of Gilgit, Brig. Ghansara Singh, was, in course of time, handed over to Indian Government in an exchange of political prisoners and is still as a nonagenarian, living at his home town, Jammu. That Gilgit has been an in alienable part of the territories of Jammu and Kashmir State is borne out by detailed assessment reports of Settlement Commissioners who were deputed during Pratap Singh’s reign (1885-1925 A.D). Hunza Hunza is bounded on the north by Barber range, many lofty and snow clad peaks as high as 25,000 feet. It is situated 8,000 feet above sea level and can muster about five thousand fighting men fairly reliable in any emergency. The State had often been hostile to the Maharaja of Kashmir and had often made attacks on Gilgit, either in combination with Yasin or with some other petty states. But Ranbir Singh (1856-86 A.D) quelled the hostility and affected peace with the Raja of Hunza. Sanad granted by His Highness, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir to Mohammed Nazim Khan of Hunza. Whereas the State of Hunza has recently been in armed rebellion against my authority, and whereas in consequence thereof, Raja Safdar Ali Khan, has justly forfeited any rights which he may have possessed as ruler of the State ; And whereas the said Safdar Ali Khan has fled from Hunza, and has not returned or made submission to me or to the Government of India and whereas, I nevertheless desire to continue the Chiefship of the said State of Hunza in the person of a member of the ruling family of the said State ; Now, therefore, I have, with the approval and the authority of Governor General of India in Council, selected you, Mohammed Nazim Khan, to be ruler of the said State of Hunza. The chiefship of the Hunza State will be hereditary in your family, will descend in the direct line by primogeniture provided that in each case the succession is approved by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir for the time being and by the Government of India. An annual tribute of the following amounts, that is to say ; 25 tolas of gold, equal to 16 tolas and 5 mashas, will be paid by you and your successors to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Further, you are informed that the permanence of this grant conveyed by the Sanad will depend upon the ready fulfilment by you and by your successors of all orders given by the Jammu and Kashmir State with regard to the conduct of relations between the State of Hunza and the States and tribes adjoining it, the administration of your territory , the prevention of raiding and man-stealing, the construction of roads through your country, the composition of such troops as you may be permitted to retain, and any other matters in which the Jammu and Kashmir State may be pleased to intervene. Be assured that so long as your house is loyal to the State of Jammu and Kashmir and to the British Government, and faithful to the conditions of the sanad, you and your successors will enjoy favour and protection. The following treaty was affected in August, 1870 between the Mir and Kashmir Darbar :- By the Holy Quran..........................
I am Raja Ghazan Khan son of Raja Ghazanfar Khan and grandson of the late Raja Saleem Khan of Hunza. Whereas my father late Ghazanfar Khan remained under the control of Kashmir from a long time, especially the deceased Raja was obedient to the Maharaja, I also agree to remain obedient and present the tribute in the same manner. Hence I on my own accord, without force or pressure, depute my motabir, Wazir Fazal Khan and accept the following terms:-
As this agreement has been written, after swearing the Holy Quran, no change whatsoever will take place on my part. The tribute was paid regularly. When Hari Singh ascended the throne the Mir at Hunza went personally to Srinagar to take part in the coronation. He offered some presents besides the stipulated tribute, and received a robe in return. Before Gilgit was leased out to the British in 1935, a procedure was adopted so that the Mir did not discontinue his offering of tribute to Kashmir Darbar. The Mir was also in receipt of a subsidy of Rs. 2,000/- a year from Kashmir Darbar. |
Nagar The Nagar territory lies on the opposite side to Hunza bounded on the north by the river Hunza and possesses the same geographical and Geological features. It remained under the suzerainty of Jammu and Kashmir State right up to 1947. Since 1867 the State of Nagar had been paying a small tribute, to the Maharaja of Kashmir, receiving in return a present of larger value. Here is a translation of an undertaking in Persian given by the representatives of Nagar in 1870 A.D.
Sanad granted by His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir to Raja Jafar Khan of Nagar. Whereas the State of Nagar has recently been in armed rebellion against my authority, and whereas in consequence thereof, You, Raja Jafar Khan, have justly forfeited any rights which you may have possessed as ruler of the said State : And whereas by reason of your submission, and in consideration of your promise to abide by the following conditions, it is thought desirable, as an act of clemency, to re-appoint you as ruler of the said State. Now, therefore, I have resolved, with the approval and authority of the Governor-General of India in Council, to re-appoint you, Raja Jafar Khan, as ruler of the said State of Nagar, and you are hereby appointed to be Raja of Nagar. The Chiefship of the Nagar State will be hereditary in your family, and will descend in the direct line by primogeniture, provided that in each case the succession is approved by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir for the time being and by the Government of India. As annual tribute of the following amounts, that is to say :--- Twenty six tolas of gold, equal to 17 tolas and 1 masha, will be paid by you and your successors to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Further, you are informed that the permanence of the grant conveyed by the sanad will depend upon the ready fulfilment by you and your successors of all orders given by the J&K State, with regard to the conduct of relations between the State of Nagar and the States and tribes adjoining it, the administration of your territory, the construction of roads through your country, the composition of such troops as you may be permitted to retain, and any other matters in which the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir for the time being may be pleased to intervene. Be assured that, so long as your house is loyal to the State of Jammu and Kashmir and to the British Government, and faithful to the conditions of the sanad, you and your successors will enjoy favour and protection.
A letter from Zafar Zahid, son of Raja Jafar Khan to the address of Dewan Kripa Ram, the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir will be of interest: "So long as there is breath in my body and head on my body, I shall not swerve from the sphere of your order. With your friends I shall cement friendship, your enemies I shall treat with vengeance and envy. In this work, I hold the Maharaja as my master and supporter and I believe he will think of my welfare, because I am always at his service and have just sent my tribute. The agreement which has been entered into and agreed by Mirza, Shah Murad and others is binding on me". There is also a letter of August, 1870 from him to the Maharaja saying that he had sent Wazir Shah with his two sons namely, Alidad Khan and Habib Khan and that the Maharaja was pleased to fix an allowance for Habib Khan and appointed Alidad Khan as the ruler of Gilgit. The letter referred above is acknowledgement of an order of the Maharaja, in which the above proposals are embodied. The conquest of Hunza and Nagar in 1895 by Pratap Singh stopped the occasional looting on the Karakorum. The Raja of Nagar is recorded to have paid tribute at the coronation ceremony of Hari Singh in 1926. He also entered into a fresh agreement to evolve modalities for paying his stipulated tribute to the Maharaja even after the lease of Gilgit to British in 1935. Chitral Chitral is located at the western fringe of Kafristan and its average height is 8,000 feet above sea level. It is adjacent to China and has been a centre of Buddhist learning. The earliest records available show that since the year, 1864, the Mehtar of Chitral, Aman-ul-Mulk used to send his Nazrana through his representatives, sometimes his brother, Makhmul Shah, to the Maharaja of Kashmir. In 1876 the Mehtar appears to have approached the Maharaja, with a view to seeking his protection against the threatening attitude of the Amir of Afghanistan, who had an eye on this territory. As a result, an agreement was made which may loosely be translated as follows : "This agreement is made on behalf of myself and my children."
In 1855, Nizam-ul-Mulk, the eldest son of Mehtar Aman-ul-Mulk visited Jammu. He was treated as the State guest throughout till he went to Calcutta to wait on the Viceroy. On his return, he continued to be the State guest and at the time of his departure was granted Rukhstana of rupees 3,125 for himself, in addition to the Khillats granted to him and his family and dependents. In 1836, at the request of the Mehtar of Chitral, a report writer was sent by the Maharaja to Chitral. In 1914 the Government of India acceding to the wishes of the Mehtar of Chitral, transferred the areas of Mastuj and Laspur to him by virtue of the agreement signed by him on April 2, 1914. The first clause of agreement runs as under: I acknowledge the suzerainty of the Maharaja of Kashmir and Jammu and in token thereof will resume the annual payment of following Nazrana viz :
Further clause 8 reads as follows : "In consideration of my acceptances of the above conditions, the subsidies now paid to me and certain officials viz. Rs. 12,000/- a year by the Government of India and Rs. 12,560/- a year paid by the Kashmir Darbar which he continued subject to the provision that the payment at present aggregating Rs. 4,560/- a year made by the latter to certain officials and headmen will gradually close as the present recipients die or/are removed from Office". The Mehtar did attend the Raj Tilak ceremony of Hari Singh in 1926. Though he offered his usual offering, there appears to have been a grievance on some matter of protocol. There are records available of as late as 1935 when correspondence on this matter was continuing. Chitral remained under the suzerainty of Kashmir Darbar right up to October, 1947, when Pakistan raiders occupied it. Skardu Situated on the left bank of River Indus, Skardu is the principal town of Baltistan. It is bounded by river Shigar on the north, by Kiris and Parkuta on the east by Tilail on the South and by Astor and Rondu on the West. The district has been a part and parcel of J&K State uptill 1947. It was continuously administered by the J&K State Government. Gulab Singh gained the control of this territory by virtue of clause 4 of Lahore treaty of 1846 which was ratified in the treaty of Amritsar, 1846, between British Government and Maharaja Gulab Singh vide its article No.1. Skardu is the central town in Baltistan. A Wazir Wazarat was stationed here by J&K State Government and Kargil tehsil was a part of his jurisdiction. Skardu was a part of State revenue and judicial systems. Its revenue was assessed from time to time and there are settlement reports available which describe the quantum and method of revenue collection. For instance, the assessment notes by Major J. L. Kaye, settlement Commissioner appointed by Maharaja Pratap Singh’s Government, printed at Ranbir Prakash Press, Jammu in 1904 A.D. states that the following illaqas’ are also parts of Skardu. Illaqa Haramosh-Rondu-Shigar-Kiris-Parkutta-Tolti-Khapalu-Charbat. He proposes (page 6) that "the cost of settlement of these lands should be recovered from the Rajas under the usual rules. The Rajas will with their allowances, all be in receipt of an income of Rs. 300/- a year" and the cost of the settlement will not be a large demand. Skardu fell to Pakistani raiders on August 14, 1948. Uptill then it was ruled by the Government headed by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, which was appointed by Maharaja in March, 1948. The last Wazir Wazarat of Skardu was an officer from Jammu, Mr. Amar Nath Pragal. He was brutally killed by the invaders and the District treasury ransacked, which even at that time contained Ninety thousand and odd Rupees in Indian currency. The local administration was mostly manned by officials hailing from Jammu and Kashmir provinces. Many of them managed to escape, a number of them were taken prisoners. These were to return only after an exchange of political prisoners between India and Pakistan and were absorbed in State Government cadres. |
